Bela Lugosi was originally meant to play Frankenstein's Monster in Frankenstein. Unhappy with the initial script, he turned down the role. Boris Karloff was cast, launching his career. Lugosi, however, would get a chance at appearing in a Frankenstein film with Son of Frankenstein. Lugosi stole the movie from everyone else, as Son of Frankenstein is a strong follow-up in this franchise.
Baron Wolf von Frankenstein (Basil Rathbone) returns to his ancestral home with his wife Elsa (Josephine Hutchinson) and son Peter (Donnie Donagan). He wants to redeem the Frankenstein family name. Easier said than done, as the village has yet to forgive the Frankenstein family for unleashing the Monster on them. The local police chief, Inspector Krogh (Lionel Atwill) attempts to keep the peace between the Baron's family and the local community. Krogh has a mechanical arm owing to his encounter with the Monster. However, he harbors no ill will towards the Frankenstein family.
Someone who does harbor ill will towards the villagers is Ygor (Bela Lugosi). He was a blacksmith who somehow survived his public hanging. Ygor has lived in the Castle Frankenstein ruins and has a surprise for the Baron. It is none other than Frankenstein's Monster (Boris Karloff). He is neither dead nor alive. Wolf believes that he can correct his father's mistakes and make the Monster into a creature for good.
As it turns out, this blows up in the Baron's face. Ygor is eager for revenge against those who hung him. Now with the Monster active, Ygor makes him his personal hitman. Krogh suspects that the Monster has returned. He also is aware that the villagers will attempt to take matters into their own hands against the Baron. The Frankenstein family is not safe. Will the Baron be able to stop both Ygor and his late father's Monster?
The film also manages to be clever at times. "We came to meet you, not to greet you", one of the villagers tells the Baron when the Frankensteins return to their ancestral land. Late in Son of Frankenstein, Ygor is asked about the Frankenstein family butler Benson (Edgar Norton). Benson has disappeared and the Baron is worried that he will talk. "No, he'll never tell," Ygor tells him with regards to "Benson man". It is a menacing line, delivered by Lugosi with a mix of dark humor and eeriness.
It is made more menacing through Bela Lugosi's performance. Son of Frankenstein is probably Lugosi's finest hour as an actor outside his iconic turn in Dracula. Lugosi as Ygor is menacing and dangerous. Moreover, he shows Ygor to be ruthless and even a bit shady. The villagers know that Ygor is alive. However, as they have already hung him for murder, they cannot hang him again. When brought before the village council, Ygor coughs on them. Apparently, it is accidental. A case can be made that he did not intend to literally cough on his adversaries. However, Rowland V. Lee's directing is subtle enough to show that Ygor might be using his unique position to literally spit on his executioners.
Lugosi makes Ygor into this quietly menacing figure. He is someone who will stop at nothing to get his revenge. Looking at Son of Frankenstein now, I imagine that some people will find Ygor and Inspector Krogh funny. More than likely, this is due to how Young Frankenstein took elements from Son of Frankenstein for its affectionate send-up of the Universal horror films. Ygor, for example, plays a horn. The horn playing is, like most of Lugosi's performance, menacing and creepy. Now, however, it looks like merriment.
Bless Lionel Atwill for balancing the silly and serious of his character. He plays Inspector Krogh straight. He is an efficient but stiff police inspector (no pun intended). However, it is that straightforward manner that makes Krogh unintentionally amusing. At the film's climax, poor Krogh's arm is ripped off by the Monster. Somehow, it is not meant to be funny. Somehow, it ended up as such. When offered liquor at a tense showdown with the Baron, he declines. Inspector Krogh declares, "You forget! I have my hat on!". Again, I figure that this line was not meant to be funny. It is not played as funny. However, it did make me laugh out loud. It is the line and Atwill's line delivery that makes it so.
Son of Frankenstein has a very strong performance from the title character. Basil Rathbone was a versatile actor, able to play both heroes and villains. Here, he was a bit of both. Baron Wolf was not a bad man. He loved his wife and son. He was motivated by genuinely good intentions of restoring the Frankenstein family name. He even went into reviving his father's creation with the hope of showing the positive intentions behind the creation. Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, however, would be the first of many to learn that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. While he ultimately is heroic, Rathbone does show that he is slightly less menacing than the mad, psychotic Ygor.
Unfortunately, lost in all this is Boris Karloff as the Monster. Son of Frankenstein would be the last time that Karloff would play the Monster. It would not be the last time that he appeared in a Frankenstein film, however. Karloff was pretty much forgotten in Son of Frankenstein. Bela Lugosi so dominates the film that the Monster has very little to do. He is, sadly, a plot device. He is mute and just lumbers about. To be fair, the Monster does show emotion when Ygor meets his maker. He also does well when struggling to eliminate the Frankenstein family name. However, for the most part, the Monster is just there. One can see why Boris Karloff opted out of appearing as the Monster for future Frankenstein films.
Josephine Hutchinson as the Baroness was not particularly great. She was serviceable. However, she did come across as slightly dim.
Son of Frankenstein has vaguely Expressionistic scenery. Frank Skinner's score also adds to the overall quality of the film. Son of Frankenstein may not be held alongside its two predecessors. However, as a film, Son of Frankenstein is a strong and entertaining film. It should be seen just for Bela Lugosi's magnificent turn as one the franchise's greatest villains.
The Son of Frankenstein also rises.
UNIVERSAL FRANKENSTEIN FILMS
The Ghost of Frankenstein
Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man
The House of Frankenstein
The House of Dracula
Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
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